When retired Philadelphia Eagles star Jason Kelce, brother of Travis, launched his late-night ESPN talk show earlier this year, notably in attendance was a talented young man from Hollywood named Ben Stocker.
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Philadelphia-based band Snacktime, the house band for a new ESPN talk show by Jason Kelce. (Austin Kruczek/Courtesy)
A saxophonist, Stocker was standing in a stage-right balcony with the six other members of Snacktime, the house band for “They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce.” The fact that the group he’d co-founded five years earlier was now the house band for a nationally televised sports talk show hosted by the man who could someday be Taylor Swift’s bro-in-law — well, it spoke to the kind of unpredictable yet not surprising trajectory that Stocker’s musical career has taken since he won two prestigious national competitions blowing his horn with the Dillard High School jazz band.
It was there, actually, at the high school in Fort Lauderdale, that the seeds of Snacktime were sown.
“On my first day at the Dillard jazz band camp just before starting high school,” Stocker says, “a big guy with a trombone came up to me and asked me if I wanted to join his ska band. I said yes — and some 10-ish years later, Sam and I started Snacktime.”
The Sam he speaks of is Sam Gellerstein, from Plantation, who plays bass guitar and a tuba called a sousaphone. He and Stocker played with the Dillard Center for the Arts Jazz Ensemble that in both 2011 and 2012 won the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival held at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center.
In 2018, the two reunited during grad school at Temple University in Philadelphia, where Snacktime was born two years later. The band made its bones playing free, COVID-compatible outdoor shows in the city, branding them with their own brassy, buoyant and often boffo gumbo of soul, funk, punk, jazz, hip-hop and R&B. Drawing large crowds with a double bill of music and food, the concerts became a zingy communal antidote to the pandemic blues.
The group eventually moved on to more traditional gigs like Philadelphia 76ers halftime shows and a host of festivals, including Austin’s South by Southwest this March. The band played a six-hour set at comic Eric Andre’s 40th birthday extravaganza in New York in 2023, but perhaps its biggest breakthrough came as the opening act for last year’s national tour by Portugal. The Man, the punctuated alt-rockers responsible for the 2018 earworm, “Feel It Still.”
“It was the most incredible touring experience we could have ever asked for,” says Stocker, 29, the son of veteran Sun Sentinel photographer Mike Stocker and former staff photographer Susan Stocker. “They took us around the country and showed us the ropes of how to have fun with your friends, give an amazing show to your fans every night, how to stand up for what you believe in, and how to give back to communities in an impactful way. By the end of our second run with them we were part of their band, performing with them for the entire show.”
It’s an experience that Stocker believes will resonate when Snacktime hits the road with indie band Fitz and the Tantrums later this year — the kind of success that he says his years at Dillard prepared him for.
“Specifically as someone who went on to study music,” he says, “I was already ahead of my peers because we were taught how to show up on time, how to communicate with bandmates, how to practice, how to listen and how to be advocates for ourselves. We performed at national high school jazz competitions that definitely prepared me to handle high-stress situations and play for large crowds. But win or lose, we learned how to be professional.”
However, it didn’t prepare him for everything.
“As a kid pursuing a career in music, you usually think your life will 100-percent revolve around music,” Stocker says. “Once you actually become a professional musician, you realize that music is just a small portion of what it actually takes. Most of my days are spent working on social media, business, tour planning and a million other things that don’t actually involve my saxophone. But the work put in on these aspects is what allows us to go around the country playing for people.”
From his home in Philly, Stocker kindly found a few moments in that schedule to riff on our Quote Unquote questionnaire.
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Aside from the weather, what do you enjoy most about South Florida?
My favorite thing now that I don’t live there is just visiting my family and childhood friends. I rarely go out when I’m home, usually just sit in the backyard catching up.
Aside from the weather, what do you dislike most about South Florida?
TRAFFIC — probably another reason I don’t make it down to Miami often.
Are you a beach person or a pool person?
Is it a cop out to say both? The perfect combo is a beach day followed by a cool down in the pool.
Bob Hudak / Sun Sentinel
Hollywood Broadwalk
When in your life are you or have you been the happiest?
Walking down the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk with an ice cream cone from Surf N Spray.
What do you do when you’re stuck in a traffic jam on I-95?
If the drive is over an hour, usually a podcast.
What music are you listening to now?
Right now I’m really enjoying Dijon and Mk.gee. Also have had Sly and the Family Stone on repeat recently.
Are you a fan, and if so, of what?
I’m a music lover, but I feel like fandom usually comes with obsession over individuals on a level that I usually don’t relate to. I’m a big fan of food.
If you had to choose: Beatles or Stones?
Beatles.
What are your social media user names?
@benjstocker
Apple or Android?
Apple.
Who is your real-life hero or heroine?
My parents!
What car are you driving now?
Volvo S60 T5 bought from my uncle.
Barry Wetcher / Associated Press
Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa and Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson in “Creed.”
If you had to choose: “Rocky” or “Raging Bull”?
“Rocky.”
What do you like most about yourself?
The people I surround myself with. I prioritize friends and family over everything.
What places in South Florida do you recommend to guests visiting from out-of-town?
Tarks of Dania Beach, Surf N Spray, Le Tub … overall, I recommend HOLLYWOOD.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel
Le Tub on the Intracoastal Waterway in Hollywood.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d like to make myself take more trips to FL. I’d also like to change my relationship with social media. As a musician it’s easy to always compare yourself to other musicians and base your success off of numbers. The real world is much more enjoyable than the internet.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My greatest achievement is living a happy life with my girlfriend, my dog and my cat all while chasing my dreams and doing what I love every day.